Trenton Johnston has been sentenced in Miami for his role in a cryptocurrency laundering scheme involving more than $13 million in stolen funds, after investigators linked the Canadian to fake support calls and demonstrations of his methods on Discord.
Summary
- Trenton Johnston has been sentenced in Miami over a crypto scheme involving more than $13 million.
- Investigators said fake Google and Trezor support calls helped the scammers gain access to victims’ wallets.
- A witness told investigators Johnston shared his screen on Discord to demonstrate his theft methods.
- Johnston surrendered approximately $3.8 million in cryptocurrency and helped authorities investigate other suspects.
According to International Business Times UK, which reported on the sentencing, the 20-year-old received time served on Oct. 26 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, with prosecutors citing his assistance in investigations involving other people.
Johnston surrendered $3.8 million after his arrest
Defense lawyer Brooke C. Watson said Johnston handed over approximately $3.8 million in Bitcoin and Ether after his arrest and quickly admitted his conduct, the outlet reported, citing a filing submitted before sentencing.
His guilty plea had previously brought a recommendation of 51 to 63 months in prison, as crypto.news previously reported in June when covering his money laundering plea agreement. Prosecutors sought dismissal of a separate wire fraud conspiracy charge under the agreement.
The earlier coverage listed the surrendered assets as 53.16 BTC and 275.23 ETH, valued at roughly $3.7 million at that time. The later dollar estimate was $3.8 million, according to the defense account reported by International Business Times UK.
Using the later valuation and the reported minimum loss of $13.04 million, the surrendered assets equal approximately 29.1% of that dollar figure. The calculation compares reported valuations and does not establish how much money individual victims have received.
International Business Times UK reported that it was unclear whether the court had ordered restitution. Watson described her client as “tremendously sorry,” while prosecutors said he had provided “substantial assistance” in investigations and prosecutions.
Fake support calls preceded the Bitcoin theft
In its May 11 announcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida described a scheme in which Johnston and other participants impersonated support representatives from a search engine and cryptocurrency companies.
Prosecutors alleged that the callers obtained access to victims’ digital accounts and wallets before transferring cryptocurrency for their own benefit. At the indictment stage, investigators estimated losses exceeding $13 million and said they were continuing to identify victims.
The June account of the case identified Google and hardware wallet provider Trezor among the companies impersonated. One victim was persuaded that their Google email and Coinbase accounts had been compromised, according to the reported court documents, before losing approximately $41,000 in Ether.
A California resident subsequently lost 185 BTC, worth nearly $13 million at the time, after receiving calls from people posing as Google and Trezor representatives, according to the court-document account carried by International Business Times UK.
“We actually smacked a 185btc target today,” Johnston wrote to an accomplice, according to the complaint quoted by the outlet.
Dexerto reported that a witness told investigators Johnston shared his screen on Discord to demonstrate the theft methods. The outlet described purchases including a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, two BMWs and jewelry, alongside spending on a private jet rental and Miami nightlife.
The federal announcement named Brandon Michael Tardibone as a co-defendant and alleged that he provided Johnston with accommodation at a luxury Miami-area residence to help him evade immigration authorities. Prosecutors accused the pair of using more than $1 million in proceeds for vehicles, jewelry and entertainment.
Homeland Security Investigations led the federal investigation, with assistance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s inspector general, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Golden Beach Police Department, according to the announcement. The case was assigned number 26-cr-20181 in the Southern District of Florida.
Recent phishing disclosures involve customer contact details
Separate disclosures on Oct. 28 involved exposed customer contact information at Coinbase’s analytics vendor Amplitude. Coinbase said its own systems had not been accessed without authorization and maintained that customer funds remained safe.
In South Korea, Bithumb said an outside party accessed its internal mobile groupware system on Oct. 27. The exchange reported the incident to national cybersecurity and privacy authorities while investigating the scope of the personal information exposure.
Commenting on the disclosures, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao warned that leaked names, email addresses, phone numbers and transaction histories could be used for phishing, SIM swapping and social engineering. He recommended unique passwords, stronger authentication and carrier protections against unauthorized number transfers.
Foundation had issued a separate warning on Oct. 26 after attackers sent fraudulent emails from official domains using compromised Cloudflare API keys. The company said it revoked the credentials and removed the malicious domain while maintaining that Passport hardware and stored funds remained secure.
CEO Zach Herbert said attackers had exploited a vulnerability in a self-hosted application and might have accessed customer support communications. Foundation was investigating whether personal information had been exposed.
Commenting on Johnston’s case in the June coverage, Cyvers CEO and co-founder Deddy Lavid said human manipulation accounted for many major thefts and called for systems capable of spotting suspicious activity before customer funds leave accounts.
Earlier recovery involved funds seized for a U.S. victim
In October 2024, blockchain investigator ZachXBT described helping authorities recover $275,000 in Bitcoin following a separate support impersonation scam targeting an elderly U.S. Coinbase user.
According to the investigator, callers posing as exchange support staff had stolen around 15 BTC in April 2024. He said authorities seized $275,000 and that the money would be returned to the victim.
